LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman stood on second base. He took off his helmet and patted his chest Sunday as the Dodger Stadium crowd serenaded him with loud ¡°Freddie! Freddie!¡± chants that have become a norm in Los Angeles since last season.

During a pitching change in the eighth inning, the crowd chanted for him again. Freeman delivered with a curtain call. Since signing with the Dodgers at the start of last season, Freeman has quickly become one of the most-liked players on the roster.

Freeman has treated Dodgers fans with plenty of memorable moments in a short period of time. His latest act was collecting his 2,000th career hit on an RBI double in the eighth inning against right-hander Rafael Montero, allowing the Dodgers to mount a comeback before ultimately losing, 6-5, to the Astros in 11 innings.

Despite the loss, the Dodgers, once again, held a champagne toast in the locker room following the game in order to celebrate yet another milestone for Freeman, whose 2,000 hits are the sixth most among active players.

¡°Yeah, that¡¯s special,¡± Freeman said. ¡°Seeing how happy my dad, my stepmom, my wife, my kids were for me, it just makes it special. And the fans have embraced my family and I since the day I got here, so they made another special memory for the Freeman family. It¡¯s a special day, one I¡¯ll never forget.¡±

Freeman joked that his personal milestones have only come in losses this season, but despite the final result Sunday, it was a successful week for the Dodgers, who went 4-1 against the Angels and Astros, two teams over .500.

Will Smith and Mookie Betts each homered Sunday and continued to make their case to start this year¡¯s Midsummer Classic in Seattle.

Tony Gonsolin, however, struggled once again, allowing four runs over five innings of work.

¡°It¡¯s always tough to lose the last one, but to look back and say you won a series against a good ballclub, I feel we¡¯ve got some momentum,¡± Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ¡°We¡¯ve got Clayton [Kershaw] on Tuesday, and I feel good about that.¡±

Something else the Dodgers feel good about is the potential of Freeman finding his stride once again at the plate. Freeman was in the middle of an 0-for-11 mini-slump before a one-out double down the left-field line in the sixth inning, getting him to 1,999 career hits. After the game, Freeman admitted that he has been ¡°grinding at the plate¡± recently, but that hit helped him lock back in and utilize the opposite side of the field.

In his next at-bat, Freeman took a 2-1 pitch from Montero and lined it over the head of Kyle Tucker in right field for his 2,000th career hit. Freeman also joined the 300-homer club earlier this season, becoming the 98th player in Major League history to reach both numbers in a career. Freeman wasn¡¯t aware of that until being told postgame, keeping him speechless for a few seconds.

¡°That kind of hits a little bit. This game¡¯s been going on for a long time,¡± Freeman said. ¡°There¡¯s been, what? 16,000, 17,000 people to play this game, and to be under 100, it¡¯s hard for me to put into words right now. ¡­ It¡¯s just special to achieve some of these things, and for fans and my teammates, coaching staff, to appreciate it as we're going along, that makes it even more special.¡±

As he usually does, Freeman credited the help of his dad, Fred, for all the work they¡¯ve both put in over the years. Freeman said he never allowed the pressure of getting to 2,000 hits creep into his head -- outside of his son Charlie reminding him -- but he did have an incentive of reaching the milestone at home because he wanted to have his whole family in attendance. That would¡¯ve been more difficult with the Dodgers starting a six-game road trip Tuesday in Colorado.

But now that Freeman has locked in 2,000 hits in his career, the next step is trying to get to 3,000, a number that almost guarantees a spot in the baseball Hall of Fame.

¡°You guys know 3,000 hits and hits mean a lot to me,¡± Freeman said. ¡°If that were to happen, that would be great. If I stay healthy and play 162 like I want to do, I feel like my numbers will be there. ¡­ That would be pretty cool. Hopefully I can play long enough to do that.¡±